Co-creating the sustainable magnificence manufacturers of the long run

This time last year, we launched Unilever’s Positive Beauty vision, setting out how we are going to take motion by our manufacturers to champion an industry-leading new period of magnificence that’s extra equitable, extra inclusive and extra sustainable.

We wish to guarantee our manufacturers not solely do much less hurt but in addition do extra good for individuals and the planet, and collaboration might be important. Accelerating our science and know-how partnerships and programmes will play an important half in bringing our imaginative and prescient to life.

That’s why immediately we’re launching a problem to search out the following era of biodegradable and sustainable beauty components and packaging supplies that ship unbelievable advantages to the tens of millions of people that select our merchandise day by day – and to the planet.

By our Constructive Magnificence Progress Platform, we’re trying to find the easiest startups, scaleups and tutorial spinouts to accomplice with our groups. The purpose? To convey good and sustainable, practical components that work with nature to our magnificence and private care portfolio.

An invite for innovation

We’re inviting innovators and entrepreneurs to pitch their large concepts for biodegradable and sustainable options for hair care, skincare and deodorant merchandise and packaging to a panel of Unilever specialists.

Chosen companies might be invited to discover partnerships or probably pilot their ideas inside our Magnificence & Private Care enterprise – a €20 billion portfolio which incorporates manufacturers comparable to Dove, Vaseline, Rexona, TRESemmé and plenty of extra.

“We’re creating the following era of applied sciences and components for our magnificence and private care merchandise that aren’t solely extremely efficient but in addition pure and sustainable,” says Unilever’s Chief Analysis & Growth Officer Richard Slater.

“Collaborating with disruptive new gamers on this area goes to result in much more breakthroughs as we develop our enterprise and portfolio for a future the place individuals and planet can thrive collectively,” he provides.

Co-creating for sustainable development

The decision-out for biodegradable magnificence ideas is the second problem set by the Constructive Magnificence Progress Platform because it went stay in September 2021.

The primary invited startups and scaleups who specialised within the quickly rising enviornment of social commerce to use, and virtually 300 companies bought in contact. A panel of Unilever specialists shortlisted the entries right down to 33 candidates: seed-stage to billion-dollar companies from Silicon Valley to Singapore.

5 candidates at the moment are in conversations to kick off pilot tasks with our main magnificence and private care manufacturers:

Baz Saidieh, World Head of our collaborative innovation community the Unilever Foundry
(Opens in a brand new window), says: “The Constructive Magnificence Progress Platform is proving an efficient catalyst not simply to search out the best startup improvements but in addition to drive these connections and alter at scale. If this new problem is half nearly as good as our first, we ought to be in for some gorgeous collaborations.”

What’s subsequent?

If you wish to enter the Constructive Magnificence Progress Platform Problem, these are the following steps and key dates:

• Submissions open at 12 noon (GMT) on Wednesday 9 March.
• Two Unilever Open Forums, where experts from Unilever will present further details about the ask and host a Q&A session, will take place on Wednesday 23 March at 10:00 and 16:00 (GMT).
• Submissions close on Monday 11 April at 23:59 (BST).
• The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 12 May.
• Virtual live presentations for the top six applicants will be held during the week beginning 23 May between 13:00 and 14:30 (BST).
• Partnership discussions will take place during Q2 and Q3 2022.